Wednesday February 26, 2020
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There are still no cases of coronavirus infections in the United States, but the markets there continue to react nervously to the danger. Another crash does not occur, however, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 still show a minus.
The US stock markets were volatile after the recent crash on Tuesday midweek. After moderate gains at the start of trading, the indices dipped again slightly into the negative range in the further course. They traded inconsistently at the close of trading.
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The Dow Jones index fell 0.5 percent to 26,959 points. The S&P 500 closed 0.4 percent lower at 3,117 points, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2 percent to 8,981 points. The 1,120 (Tuesday: 285) winners on the NYSE were matched by 1,865 (2,714) losers. 56 (42) shares closed unchanged.
Health agency warns of coronavirus
As on the stock exchanges in Europe and previously in Asia, trading continued to be dominated by headlines on the corona virus and its effects on the global economy. The virus has spread further across Europe, and the US health agency CDC has recently warned of the spread of the corona virus and a significant impact on public life. “The question is no longer so much whether it will happen, but when exactly and how many people in this country will become seriously ill,” said CDC representative Nancy Messonnier.
Given the growing fear of the corona virus in the United States, US President Donald Trump had also spoken out. Via Twitter, Trump accused the US media of portraying the situation worse than it really was and causing panic in the markets. He also announced a press conference at the White House for the evening (00:00 CET).
Monthly Demand for “Secure Investments”
In view of the continuing uncertainties, supposedly “safe investments” were like Bonds and gold still in demand, but not to the same extent as on previous trading days. The yield on ten-year US bonds fell 1.0 basis points to 1.34 percent as prices rose. On Tuesday, they had dropped to a record low of just over 1.30 percent. The price of a troy ounce of gold rose slightly by 0.3 percent to $ 1,639.
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The oil prices however, continued to yield. The price of a barrel of US crude oil of the WTI variety fell 2.4 percent to $ 48.71. The European variety Brent fell 2.7 percent to $ 53.48. Concerns continued to weigh on prices that the spread of the coronvirus would lead to an oversupply on the market. The fact that US crude oil inventories rose more slowly than expected had no lasting effect.
At the foreign exchange market The CDC’s statements by the US health agency weighed on the dollar. The euro temporarily climbed to a daily high of around $ 1.09 – the highest level in around two weeks. At the close, it was trading at $ 1.0883. In terms of the economy, only the publication of new building sales for January was on the agenda. With an increase of 7.9 percent, they were well above the expectations of economists of 2.4 percent.
Disney charged by personnel
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Mattel lost 2.1 percent after the stock exchange regulator wanted to take a closer look at the toy manufacturer’s accounting practices. Disney closed 3.7 percent in the red. The entertainment company had announced that the 69-year-old CEO Robert Iger resigned after more than 14 years. The head of the theme park division, Bob Chapek, becomes the new CEO with immediate effect.
Salesforce listed 1.3 percent lighter. Co-boss Keith Block takes his hat off the company that specializes in cloud computing solutions. Salesforce also reported quarterly numbers that missed expectations significantly in terms of profit, but exceeded sales. However, the sales outlook for the current first quarter was better than expected.
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